1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a musical instrument mute holder which can securely hold multiple musical instrument mutes and can be removably suspended from a music stand.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Musicians typically play brass musical instruments seated or standing behind a music stand so as to be able read sheet music and have visibility of the conductor. Music stands come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but generally consist of a base, a shaft and tray assembly. The tray assembly is further comprised of a back and a lip joined at bottom of the back and back side of the lip. The assembly provides a means for the placement of sheet music and/or a music book required for play. Tray height is generally adjustable by way of a telescoping shaft. Tray angle is further angularly adjustable so that the musician may place the contents of the tray in a location appropriate for the instrument used, the location of the conductor, and appropriate for the musician's physical requirements.
During the course of playing certain brass musical instruments, a given piece of music may require a change in the tone of the instrument for a period of play. In order to change the tone of a brass instrument, a musician inserts a device having a conical shape called a mute into the bell of the instrument. A given piece of music may call for the use of a single mute for a single part of the composition. This requires that the mute be located during play, inserted for a period of play, removed, and then returned to where the musician keeps it when not in use. More complex compositions may require the use of a mute for multiple sections, separated by intervals where no mute is required. These require a succession of cycles where the player inserts the mute, plays, and then removes the mute, stores it, plays without the mute, and then reinserts the mute to repeat the cycle. Still more complex compositions, in which different sections of music call for the use of different mutes, require multiple mute changes. The general problem for the brass player is managing the assortment of mutes required to play a given piece or a series of pieces of music. Absent a mute rack or holder, the musician must keep track of the mutes usually located on the floor and must avoid displacing a particular mute, which may roll out of reach while keeping time or standing up to play, all while performing. A mute rack or holder keeps the needed mutes readily available in a position where they can be reliably located and to which they may be readily returned for subsequent re-use.
In order to provide easy access to the required types of mutes during the playing of different brass instruments, it is known in the art to attach a mute holder to a music stand in a variety of ways. The existing designs can be classified by attachment method. The particular attachment method selected results in a set of holder characteristics that may be undesirable to the player.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,722 to Teig (hereinafter Teig '722) discloses the use of spring clips to grasp the music stand shaft as the attachment method. The Teig '722 patent requires that the shaft of the mute stand be of a particular diameter. Further, the Teig '722 patent's method of attachment places the mutes in a fixed location which may not be desirable where the music requires the player to stand for a segment of the performance. The device is also limiting in that it fixes the mutes in a specific position relative to the music stand shaft. This is not desirable if the player is required to adjust either the height of the music stand or when the music tray must be tilted for play. Further, Teig '722 discloses fixed clips attached to the side of a cylinder giving the device a fixed cross-section. This non-flat shape makes the holder difficult to place in an instrument case and inconvenient to carry with sheet music or music books.
A second attachment method known in the art is the use of a fixed slot at the top of the mute holder for attachment to the lip of a music stand tray. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,607,497 to Carlini (hereinafter Carlini '497) discloses a mute holder having a set of fingers extending outward and below the tray to hold the mutes in an arc-like array. The means for attaching the holder to the music stand tray is a metal slot formed from a metal stamping. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,970 to Kowzan (hereinafter Kowzan '970) and the commercially available Mute Caddy disclose a mute holder which attaches to the lip of a music stand using a slot that slides over the lip, grasping it from above and below.
These slot-to-tray engagement method designs, while maintaining the relationship of the mute holder and the music stand tray when tray height is adjusted, are flawed in that the angular placement of the mutes changes when tray angle is adjusted. This can be undesirable to the player. Moreover, the design may limit the use of a given mute holder design to music stands with a tray lip of a specific dimension corresponding to the holder's slot. Consequently, music stands with a tray formed of thicker gauge sheet may engage such designs tightly; stands constructed of thinner sheet may engage such holders more loosely. Wooden music stands typically have thick trays and such holders typically would not fit at all. In either case, the attachment method may render the mute holder either unusable or unstable. These designs can further create new problems for the musician. For example, the Kowzan '970 design use of a one piece structure comprised of a pair of co-planar surfaces set apart from one another by a vertical span results in a holder with a comparatively large, non-planner cross-section. It therefore can prove difficult to fit in an instrument case, difficult to carry with music books and sheet music, and be generally cumbersome due to its bulk.
A third attachment method known in the art is the use of clamping mechanism to grasp the music stand tray. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,252 to Occhipinti (hereinafter Occhipinti '252) uses in its preferred embodiment a clamping means to grasp the lip of a music stand, thereby suspending the mutes in a holder at a fixed distance and angle from the tray of the music stand. This design has limitations similar to the Kowzan '970 and Carlini '497 designs. In particular, the plane of the mute holder tray changes when the player adjusts the angle of the music stand tray. While the Occhipinti '252 design offers the advantage of the placement of the mutes being adjustable relative to the music stand lip, the benefit of the flexibility is limited by it requiring a second adjustment.
A fourth attachment method known in the art is the use of a clamping mechanism to grasp the shaft of the music stand. For example, the commercially available Bill Pfund Mute Holder (hereinafter “Pfund”) uses a large clamp to grasp the music stand shaft. The commercially available Jo-Ral Mute Holder (hereinafter “Jo-Ral”) uses a clamp of a different design. The Mute Rack Universal Mute Holder (hereinafter “UMH”) also attaches with a large clamp. Finally, the commercially available Konig & Meyer Mute Holder (hereinafter “K&M”) attaches to the shaft of a music stand through the use of a bracket and set screw fixture. The Pfund, Jo-Ral, UMH, and K&M designs are difficult to attach, are susceptible to slippage, and have the limitation of not maintaining a constant orientation to the music tray when it is raised or lowered. In particular, the UMH uses a clamp of such large size that a player may not have the strength to easily open the clamp for convenient attachment to the music stand shaft. The K&M design has such a large cross-section that it is not suitable for easy transport, such as in an instrument case, with sheet music or with a music book. The K&M is also representative of a class of clamping mute holders in which attachment may require the use of a tool such as an Allen wrench or pliers to tighten the set screw to sufficient tightness to keep the device in place.
A long felt need has therefore existed to assist a musician by providing a mute holder capable of supporting multiple mutes (including the Harmon mute plug) which would maintain constant orientation relative to the music stand tray when the height or angle of the tray is adjusted, which would be easily attached to and removed from the music stand, and which would be conveniently transported.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mute holder which would hold the mutes directly in front of the musician during play where change of mutes is required quickly.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mute holder that allows the tray assembly of the music stand from which it is suspended to move angularly as required by play without the placement of the mutes changing angularly, this being accomplished through a self-leveling and self-angle adjusting attributes of the device. The mute holder would change position in height in response to adjustments to the height of the music stand tray relative to its base.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mute holder that is easily transportable by folding flat, or collapsing in half so as to be carried for example in a musical instrument case or be carried with a stack of sheet music. Such folding and collapsing is accomplished without the use of tools, mechanical aids, and without having to squeeze a heavy clamp.
A final object of the present invention is to provide a mute holder which can be easily economically produced, yet is sturdy in construction and highly efficient in operation.